My little heart’s been yearning for some Irondad recently, lol. Prompt (only if you want to!) so Tony’s been down with a cold, and Peter ends up catching it because he’s been around helping Tony, and he tries to hide it, but his body is too extra so he ends up way worse and he doesn’t understand because it’s supposed to just be a cold. So he’s aware he’s getting worse and he’s frustrated and Tony finally steps in
Thank you for the writing inspiration, Im sorry this took so long to get out! I hope this lives up to what you were looking for! <3
It started when Tony was acting more tired than usual while he and Peter were working on his suit one Saturday. He kept sneezing every once in a while, resting his forehead against the desk when he thought nobody was looking. Peter noticed, though, and insisted they take a break.
They’d gotten some hot chocolate and settled on the couch for the evening, content to watch some movies and relax at Tony’s cabin. Tony tried to insist Peter stay away in fear he’d catch the cold he had, but Peter simply brushed his concerns off, going on about how he didn’t get sick easily after the spider bite.
Peter left the next day, needing to get home so he could go to school on Monday. He noticed being a little more tired than usual, but didn’t think anything of it.
“Did you stay up late patrolling last night?” Ned whispered during class. Peter shot him a glare, trying to get him to shut up.
“No, I didn’t. Why?”
Ned shrugged. “You look really tired, and a little pale. You feeling ok?”
Peter just waved him off. “Might be getting a cold, Tony had one when I went over there this weekend. I’ll just sleep it off tonight.”
Ned didn’t push it, and they went about their day like normal. Peter did some patrolling that night, exhausted and a little shaky when he got back, which was strange.
May noticed Peter was a little warm the next morning when he was trying to leave for school, frowning at him and brushing his hair out of his face.
“Maybe you should stay home?” She suggested. “I don’t want whatever you might be catching to get worse.”
“I’m fine, May.” Peter insisted, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “You know I don’t really get sick anymore.”
She gave him a hard look but didn’t say anything, letting him walk out the door of the apartment.
It only got worse from there. Peter couldn’t barely conceal the shivers that plagued him throughout the day, feeling lightheaded and shaky even when he made sure to eat, which he soon realized was getting harder as the food became difficult to keep down.
He finally caved in when in class he zoned out so bad, feeling dizzy and far away when he almost broke an empty test tube Ned had playfully tossed towards him, reactions slow and hands unsteady.
He excused himself from the class, locking himself in the bathroom and sitting on the floor. He put his head in his hands, trying to get rid of the pounding headache. Peter dug his nails into his palms, focusing on his breathing as he shivered.
He wasn’t supposed to be able to get sick. He was supposed to be Spiderman, to be able to help people. He wasn’t supposed to need help or to have to stay home when there were things he needed to do and people he needed to help.
Peter shakily stood up, going over to the sinks and splashing water in his face. He just needed to pull himself together, this wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.
He went back to class, ignoring the concerned looks he got and the continued nagging from Ned. When school was finally over Peter felt like he was ready to collapse, relieved to be free from all the haggling about his health. They acted like he was on deaths door, but this was just a cold, right?
Peter had just made up his mind to go home and sleep before he got a text, opening his phone.
Out front waiting-Happy
Peter groaned in frustration. He’d completely forgotten he was supposed to go to the tower after school to work on some stuff with Tony. He considered bailing, but he knew Tony would just come poking in his business to see what was up.
He trudged to the sidewalk, spotting the familiar car that usually picked him up. He tossed his backpack in before climbing in the back seat, shutting the door and resting his head against the back of the seat.
“Your less chattery than usual.” Happy pointed out, putting the car in drive and pulling into the road.
“Just tired.” Peter mumbled, looking out the window. Happy didn’t push it, driving smoothly through the traffic until they reached the tower. Peter mumbled his thanks as he got out, pain shooting through his head as he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder.
He managed to get in the building without an issue, punching the elevator button to take him to the lab and leaning against the wall. The soft whirring of machinery was enough to have him relax in the dim, warm elevator until he was startled by the ding, indicating he was at his floor. He hefted his backpack tiredly as he walked into the lab, head down.
He really didn’t want to face Mr Stark right now, intending to quietly bypass where his mentor was huddled over a project, and slip to his own desk, but Tony had other plans.
“Hey Underoos, how come your la-” He stopped, looking at Peter intently. He groaned inside, wanting to escape the unwanted attention.
“Peter, are you ok?” Came the question he was expecting, yet didn’t quite know how to answer.
“I’m fine, Mr Stark, it was just cold, and it was a long day at school.” he set his bag on the floor as he sat down, grateful he didn’t have to worry about how badly his legs were shaking now.
“Uh huh, I don’t buy it for a second.” Came the retort from his mentor. “You look like death washed over, you’re clearly sick.”
Peter was looking down at his workbench trying to ignore him when his spider senses went off quietly, and he looked up to see Tony tossing him a tool. He barely caught it, now frustrated. He wasn’t sure if it was Tony he was mad at or himself, but he didn’t care.
The stool rolled out from underneath him as he stood up, close to tears.
“Knock it off, Tony! Your always-”
He swayed, his head pounding. A wave of dizziness swept over him, and he could hear his mentors concerned, muffled voice as he fell, expecting to met the floor but instead being caught in Tony’s arms.
“Peter?!,” He asked, panicked, lowering Peter to the ground as his eyes fluttered shut. He sighed, cursing his bad back as he picked up the teen, carrying him to a nearby couch in the lab.
“FRIDAY, check his vitals, please.” He called out, biting back a mutter of frustration when the AI reported Peter’s rising fever. He left briefly, running as fast as he could to collect what he needed and returning to a waking up, disoriented Peter.
“Hey, Pete, I need you to stay still for me, bud.” Tony soothed as Peter tried to sit up, groaning in pain. “You passed out on me, I don’t think you get to claim everything’s ok anymore.”
He pushed Peter back until he was laying down without much resistance, which almost concerned Tony above all else. He quickly layered the shivering teen with blankets, holding a water bottle up to him as he tried to get him to drink.
“Your looking super dehydrated, Peter. Jesus, I didn’t need you inheriting my awful self preservation skills, kid.”
Once he got some water and medicine in him, Tony sat next to him, laying Peters head in his lap as he ran his fingers through the teens soft hair. He was surprised when Peter moved closer to him, mumbling something as he relaxed, drifting in and out of sleep as he fought the fever.
Guilt gnawed at Tony, and he felt like he was partially responsible for giving the kid the awful sickness going around. He pulled the blankets tighter around them, picking up his phone and texting May that Peter had shown up sick, but that he was fine and getting taken care of.
He made a note to himself to get the kid something to eat when he woke up, and if it got any worse he’d contact Dr Cho.
“I’m sorry, Underoos,” He muttered, hugging Peter close to him. He knew he couldn’t hear him, but he didn’t quite care. “I shouldn’t have messed around with you,,I know you think you hide it, but I can see you trying to hide things from me because you want to be strong. I know you don’t want to show any signs of weakness, but you need to learn at some point, and so do I, that we’re allowed to be weak sometimes. We’re allowed to be vulnerable and taken care of when we need it.” He sighed.
“Jesus, you’re a teenager, you don’t need this hero complex on you so early.”
He continued running his hands through his hair, brushing a curl from his face. Peter, who was still awake, kept his eyes closed, holding back tears at Tony’s words as he let himself relax, falling asleep with the gentle touch
